A MAF flight brought pastors and engineers to the construction site in the south of Guinea, where a new church will replace the building that was burned down during a time of political turmoil.
On March 22, 2020, the Evangelical Protestant Church of Dorota was set on fire amid clashes between rival camps during legislative and referendum elections in Guinea.
But four years later, a MAF flight from the capital Conakry brought engineers and senior figures from the church back to the site for the launch of a major rebuilding effort.
As the engineers prepared to get to work on the project, the leaders reflected on the significance of the symbolic step.
Emmanuel Grovogui, prefectural president of the Evangelical Protestant Church of N'Zérékoré, said: “Looking at what happened today, I am moved. I am delighted with this long-awaited ceremony.
“We are surprised to see the ceremony to launch the reconstruction work of this house of God taking place. We are very happy and thank the current authorities, who are supporting us.”
The work is expected to take 18 months and, when completed, the new place of worship will be built on an area of 2800 square metres and be 59 metres long and 30 metres wide. It will be able to hold 2300 people.
Jean-Pierre Kevin is supervising the reconstruction of the church of Dorota. He flew with MAF to oversee work on the site and caught a MAF flight back to the capital as the project progressed.
“I came on the MAF plane that took us to our destination from Conakry. And now I'm going back to Conakry for a while,” he said.
“Soon, we will finish the foundation and start at the level of the elevation.
“I would like to pay tribute to MAF, which has helped us a lot to come here and not take the Conakry road, it is an ordeal.
“It sometimes takes 48 hours or even 72 hours to be able to arrive in N'Zerekore and with the physical consequences to morale. But in two hours, we made the trip from Conakry to N'Zerekore.”
Reverend Gédéon Beavogui, the president of the Evangelical Protestant Church of Guinea, gave thanks for the start of rebuilding.
“It’s really a feeling of gratitude to God, because we've been waiting for this moment for at least four years,” he said.
“And I was really delighted to be an eyewitness to this ceremony, which was very cheerful, the rhythms, the dance steps. I am truly grateful to our God, but I am also grateful to the authorities who were willing to honour their promises because they had committed to financing the reconstruction.”
Reverend Beavogui said flying with MAF allowed the group to reach the location quickly, rather than be stuck on a long road journey.
“If I had taken the road now, for a few hours I would be in the vicinity of Kissidougou, between Kissidougou and Faranah,” he said.
“But we are already here. It is really a tremendous help, a means that the Lord has made available to the church and to the partners who use this fast, secure, comfortable means compared to the time it used to take us to reach the south of the country.”